China’s Iran Problem

A short take on Iran: China remains an obstacle to progress on Iran, as Jon B. Alterman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies points out in a recent essay that caught my eye. But Alterman also gives a concise take on the countervailing factors that might put China’s resistance to sanctions in play:

Saudi Arabia supplies China with far more oil than Iran does, and it is deathly afraid of the Iranian nuclear program. Similarly, Israel has been an important military partner for China, and its fears of a nuclear Iran run even deeper. Finally, the United States is China’s most important bilateral partner, and China seems unlikely to pursue a strategic confrontation for mere monetary gain.

Like many of us who are watching this play out, Alterman is unsure if those reasons will compel Beijing to abandon its opposition to sanctions, but they are worth keeping in mind.

Evan Osnos joined The New Yorker as a staff writer in 2008, and covers politics and foreign affairs.